Friday, November 28, 2008

This is so good, I had to post it. Obama supporters especially need to read this, and just in case you think this is anti-Obama, you're wrong. Obama is learning. I am actually getting a glimmer of hope that he may yet be a good president and not a puppet. We'll see.

The Teflon President-ElectLarry ElderThursday, November 27, 2008

"How long do you think it will take for the press to turn on Obama?" a friend asked.

"Eight years, if he's in that long," I told him. "Doesn't matter what happens. Either they'll blame Bush or 'circumstances beyond Obama's control' while writing articles about how heroically Obama handles them." It's already started.

Take President-elect Barack Obama's campaign narrative: a) Bush/McCain deregulation created our problems; b) the policies of President Clinton brought success and shared prosperity, c) President Bush's tax cuts unfairly enriched the rich, d) Obama intends to end posthaste the Iraq war, which "never should have been authorized and never should have been waged," and e) through Gitmo/unlawful wiretaps/illegal interrogation procedures, Bush "shredded" the Constitution.

Let's review.

Ever heard of the Glass-Steagall Act? President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, whose New Deal policies Obama wants to mirror, signed it into law to prevent commercial banks from engaging in investment banking. Investment banking, the kind of work done by Wall Street titans such as Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns, raises money to package and sell securities such as the now-discredited "toxic" mortgage and mortgage-backed derivatives. Clinton, with the backing of many Republicans, allowed the banking/investment wall to fall by signing the 1999 Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, repealing a large part of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933. This led to the business model of the now-troubled and recently bailed-out Citigroup, a model impossible but for the repeal of Glass-Steagall.

The Clinton administration, during its waning days, published a paper called "The Clinton Presidency: Historic Economic Growth." It listed among its achievements "Modernizing for the New Economy through Technology and Consensus Deregulation."

Clinton denies -- correctly -- that his deregulation policies caused the current financial meltdown. "I don't see that signing that bill had anything to do with the current crisis," he said. "Indeed, one of the things that has helped stabilize the current situation as much as it has is the purchase of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America, which was much smoother than it would have been if I hadn't signed that bill." Blaming deregulation on the financial crisis ignores a whole chain of events, most notably the decline in housing values. But that didn't stop candidate Obama from screaming "deregulation," even though Clinton deregulated the financial sector more than did Bush.

Candidate Obama maligned the Bush tax cuts for benefiting the rich. But President-elect Obama now intends to retain all the tax cuts, keeping the lower rates on the "rich" until they expire in 2011 -- a far cry from his campaign promises.

What about Bush's "stupid" Iraq war?

Obama now wants Bush's secretary of defense, Robert Gates, to stay. Huh? Gates supported the successful surge and the change in counterinsurgent strategy. Sen. Obama opposed the surge, attempted to stop it, and predicted failure. Candidate Obama promised to have combat troops out within a year or 16 months of his administration, but President Bush and the Iraqi government now tentatively agree to have all troops out by 2011, a timetable unfathomable but for Bush's courageous and ultimately successful decision to surge.

What about the Guantanamo Bay detainees, the "evil" interrogation techniques and "unlawful" wiretaps?

Obama -- actually faced with governing -- seems now to understand the complex legal questions Bush grappled with. Gitmo contains some really, really bad people, and Obama's security advisers now appreciate the complex legal and logistical problems. Where to move the detainees? Moving them onto American soil creates a possible target for terror attacks. And what legal rights and procedures apply in moving the detainees to America? As for the Bush surveillance program -- which allegedly "shredded" the Constitution -- Team Obama signals an intention to retain many, if not most, of these "dreaded" policies.

Eric Holder, Obama's choice for attorney general, served as deputy attorney general in the Clinton administration. He agreed with Bush on a very important policy -- one opposed by liberal icons like Al Gore. Holder, in a 2002 interview, agreed that terrorists must be interrogated so we can learn information on their cells or future plans, and that the Geneva Conventions limited the amount of information interrogators could get. Clearly they were not prisoners of war, said Holder, and were, therefore, not covered by the protections of the Geneva Conventions. However, argued Holder, if we want our own prisoners treated well, we should treat the detainees very humanely and in a manner consistent with the Geneva Conventions -- a position that Bush ultimately came to.

So where does this leave us?

Bush wasn't so evil after all. And running for and governing as president are two different things. But don't expect the Obama-loving media to notice or care.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

It smells great, the bunns like it, and it has a small pellet, perfect for young rabbits. It is also a fixed-formula pellet, which I insist upon. None of that "forage products" stuff. No corn.

However, it isn't cheap. $13.99 per 50# bag. I know, it could be worse. But I got a better deal with Blue Seal.

Oscar continues to do well, he's back to his lovable self. I don't know if he'll ever have quite the great condition that he used to, his backbone is still kinda prominent, but he is lively and happy, so I'm happy. The week after Thanksgiving he'll get his chance with Joy again.

So everyone is clipped down and growing new coats. I have a nice young French buck, courtesy of Celtic Hare, who has very nice depth and texture. Why do I have a French angora in my rabbitry? Why, to see if Donna carries chocolate. Garritt is a lilac tort, heavily line bred, and no albino in his background, nor have any popped up in related litters. I wanted a non-albino carrier so that I could properly evaluate Donna's genes without wondering what the white bunnies were underneath. Tort Giants or Germans who don't have a REW parent are very hard to find! Being the most recesive color, Garritt's babies will reflect the dam's genes. Here's hoping Donna has a chocolate gene! Of course, this means I'll have some super wooler bunnies available in the Spring. :) Whether or not she does carry chocolate, her next breeding will be to Nino. He was her original date, but I need to find out which, if any, of my purebreds carries chocolate. So, Nino is being paired with Cadbury. Oscar would have been bred to Sunrise, who carries chocolate but not albino, but he was ill. So Sunrise was bred to Crosby instead. This breeding will tell me whether Crosby is homozygous for Tan. So hopefully before the end of the year, I'll know what most of my purebreds carry - or don't. :)

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Oscar is eating normally again. :) At one point, he was eating nothing except what I could spoon into him, then a few days ago he was up to 2 cups, but he must be feeling back to his old self, he's cut back to a cup and a half, plus a big handful of hay every morning. He's filled out noticeably, I almost can't tell anything was ever wrong with him. I'm going to try breeding him with Joy, but I may take them both for a car ride first.

I honestly never thought this day would come. When I came back from Convention he was skeletal, he lay limp in my arms with is head screwed around into his side, he had pus coming out of his nose, and he had given up. I thank God for this miracle!!!

Monday, November 10, 2008

It has been touch-and-go, but Oscar is eating, and I switched him back to a water bottle rather than a bowl, and he is doing fine. He's still skinny, and not eating as much as I'd like, but he is eating, drinking, pooping, and peeing. :)

If all goes well, I'll try breeding hm again soon. :)

Louis had gone off-feed after I sheared him at Convention, he's back to eating like a horse. I tried breeding him to Joy, but she'd have nothing of it. She loves Oscar, so we'll try him when he gets more of his strength back. Louis has a couple of half-sisters who will be ready in early Spring, so he'll have his chance. Although I really do want a litter from him with Joy someday...

Meanwhile, my favorite feed store is closing, so good-bye Blue Seal. :( I'll have to switch to Purina, as there is a dealer right here in town, and he's ordering Fibre3 for me. The bunns ate it well at Convention, so the switch shouldn't be too hard.

Her thesis and the church they attended for 20 years tells a lot more about their true feelings about this country than any campaign promise.

I cannot bring myself to vote for someone who blames the previous administration for the price of gasoline, instead of the the (long awaited, encouraged, and anticipated) true cause, the success of capitalism in China and their resultant increased demand for energy.

I cannot bring myself to vote for someone who blames the previous adminstration for the mortgage crisis, while ignoring 1) his own, ACORN's, and his party's lawsuits against the mortgage industry for not giving out enough high-risk loans to people who can't afford a mortgage and should never have gotten one, and 2) the efforts of this administration to put the brakes on this crisis (which he voted against!):

I used to be a proud Democrat, but the party has fallen far from what it was, reflected in JFK's statement, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."

Today's Democrats are nothing but closet Socialists who think that the government should be anything and everything to everyone. Socialism does not work. If you want to live under a Socialist .gov, then please move to Eurpoe and LEAVE MY COUNTRY ALONE!

Please do not vote for Obama! If you don't want to vote fr McCain, fine, but vote for anyone but Obama! His record in the Senate (when he even bothered to actually vote) does not reflect what he says.

Actions speak louder that words, folks, and this man will say anything to get elected, even if it flies in the face of every vote he has ever cast, and if elected, with a Democratic Congress, he'll be free to do as he pleases, taking our hard-earned money and "spreading the wealth around".

If you want to spread your wealth to people who don't deserve it, fine, but keep your hands off of mine!

Bear in mind - it is far easier to remedy mistakes of the past than it is to correct mistakes in current reasoning. OBAMA has the chance to appoint 4 or 5 Supreme Court Justices. Do you understand the ramifications of that? Do you understand that the US is the last bastion on free thought in the modern world? I'm not kidding, it truly is. Do you believe that people should have the right to govern themselves? Do you believe that you can make the best decisions for yourself and your family? If so, vote for the people (McCain/Palin) who trust you, rather than the people who think they can spend your hard-earned money better than you can.